My childhood home, my mom with a mansion... and J-Lo's derriere: The strangely touching requests for pictures from supermax prison's 'worst of the worst' inmates stuck in solitary for the rest of their lives

Tamms Year Ten project provided photographs on prison's request as they campaigned to close the Tamms 'supermax' prison in Illinois

Where does a person's mind go once they are locked up alone in a 7x12ft concrete cell for 23 hours a day, for months, years, decades?

A remarkable and strangely touching photo project by campaigners against America's 'supermax' prisons, has given an insight into what inmates face in solitary confinement - and the images from the outside world that they remember so dearly.

For the final five years that Tamms Correctional Center in Illinois remained open, campaigners against its practices sent photographs to inmates in solitary at their request. Prisoners asked for snapshots of old neighborhoods, many irreversibly changed, the religious, superheroes and images conjured by their imaginations.

The photographs, taken by grassroots project Tamms Year Ten, make up a new exhibition opening this week in Brooklyn, New York titled Photo Requests From Solitary.

Home sweet home: Many prisoners at Tamms 'supermax' prison wanted photos that would take them back to their old neighborhoods. Darrius requested a picture of Englewood in Chicago including his aunt's house and the whole block of 63rd and Marshfield, at 2pm, facing east 'Let the people outside know that
the picture is for D-man,' he said

Resurrection: Willie asked for a picture of a vigil at Bald Knob Cross, on a hill in southern Illinois. The vigil was held by those working with the Tamms Year Ten project. Willie was transferred out of Tamms and last July paroled after serving 36 years

Lifeline: Several men asked for pictures of the people from Tamms Year Ten (taken at Chicago¿s Progressive Community Center/The People's Church). Some wanted to know something about each individual's personality while others simply wanted to put faces to them names of people who showed they had not been forgotten

Autumn leaves: David, who was kept in solitary at Tamms made this simple request: 'I'd very much appreciate any photos of fallen autumn leaves. I have no particular preference of area or location; just any scene focusing on the beauty of autumn leaves, (which, as you know, we do not have access to in the concrete box that is deemed as 'yard' here)

Retreat to the past: One unnamed prisoner wanted to see Egyptian artefacts because he enjoys history, adding 'I am grateful for these services'

Yearning for paradise: One inmate wanted to see a beach with the clearest water, palm trees, birds with a colorful plume and the sun setting low on the horizon

The men's requests, many of whom were death row prisoners before Illinois' abolition of the penalty in 2011, included photos of the neighborhoods where they had grown up and images of themselves to be given to their families.

Laurie Jo Reynolds, an artist and instigator of the project, told MailOnline: 'People living in solitary confinement is an anomaly in human history and now the U.S. has been doing it for 20 years.

'We've never asked about their minds, how they are surviving. The interesting thing about the project is that many men had just one image in their mind - that was what they were thinking about.'

Some prisoners requested pictures of the volunteers from Tamms Year Ten. One man wanted to know something about each individual in the photograph, such as their favorite music.

Take me back to the city: One prisoner wanted to see the buildings of Chicago lit up at night in particular the Christmas Tree, Magnificent Mile and Millennium Park

Relying on humor: One unnamed inmate wrote: 'Trash can rolling down hill! At 66 yrs of age I try to use a little humor: I want a picture of a trash can with the lid half off + on and 2 eyes peeking out of the half open lid as the trash can is rolling down the hill toward an incinerator with the caption: 'I seem to be picking up speed! I must be headed towards a bright future!'

Another life: One prisoner, who only had a picture of himself from 1996, asked to have it superimposed on to a beach scene

Reaching out: One man asked for a picture of the Michael Jordan statue in front of the United Center basketball stadium in Chicago

Another wrote in a request: 'I’d just like to be able to put the faces to the names we’ve seen over the years so the humanity of each can shine forth.'

Ms Reynolds told MailOnline that these requests had been 'overwhelming' for the volunteers.

The photo requests that made their way to volunteers were wide-ranging but common threads emerged.

Many men asked for photos of where they grew up and scenes from their childhood.

Others wanted photographs of places that no longer existed - one man asked a photographer to capture the now-empty blocks of the razed Robert Taylor housing projects in Chicago.

Others wished to place themselves in the frame so that they could connect with their families in the outside world.

Imagine a different life: Some prisoners request pictures of themselves to give to their families using Department of Correction shots. Robert wanted his picture placed against a different background. He wrote 'Something simple like a blue sky'

Memories: Tamms inmate Cary asked for this picture for his wife - a little boy and girl sitting side by side on a piano bench with a single red rose between them on the keys. The photographer's son agreed to be in the pho

Out in the wild: One prisoner asked for an image of the 'ten most dangerous land animals' along with a picture of himself. After careful research, volunteers created this composite

Simple scenes: One inmate had this request: 'My empty chair by a lake with woman and motorcycle. I would love a photograph of a woman setting [sic] by a lake fishing, with an empty chair next to her, with a cooler of beer. And in the empty chair have a sign with FreeBird on it! And have a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the background!'

Several prisoners had not seen what they looked like in years, after taking photographs during visiting hours to the prison were banned.

'WORST OF THE WORST': THE RISE OF AMERICA'S SUPERMAX PRISONS

Supermax prisons are stand-alone or areas of larger prisons where inmates deemed 'violent and disruptive' are kept, according to government agency, the National Institute of Corrections.

It is a prison life of sensory deprivation. Individuals are locked down for 23-hours a day in single cells only a few feet wide and long.

The 500-bed facility had no yard, cafeteria, classrooms or chapel. It was home to people defined as the most dangerous and volatile - a group deemed the 'worst of the worst' by prison authorities.

Laurie Jo Reynolds, from campaign group Tamms Year Ten which fought to close the institution, told MailOnline that it's important to remember that no one is sent to solitary confinement as punishment for their crime by the U.S. judicial system.

She said: 'The decision to place people in solitary is not transparent. It is often arbitrary based on a prison boss's opinion on who causes the most trouble or is difficult to handle.

'In this case, it often means that individuals with serious mental illnesses are left in solitary, some for years at a time.'

She earlier told Creative Time Reports: 'The consequences of isolation were predictable: many men fell into severe depression, experienced hallucinations, compulsively cut their bodies or attempted suicide.'

Tamms was only ever half full, leading to criticism that it was too costly. The prison closed for good on January 4, 2013 with Illinois Governor Quinn citing human rights issues.

Last month UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez urged the U.S. government to abolish solitary confinement.

He said: 'Even if solitary confinement is applied for short periods of time, it often causes mental and physical suffering or humiliation, amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and if the resulting pain or sufferings are severe, solitary confinement even amounts to torture.'

One man Robert wanted a picture of himself that he could give to his family.

However
he asked that his Department of Corrections mugshot be placed against a
different background: 'Something simple like a blue sky.'

Historical images were popular with requests for Egyptian artefacts and the Aztec sun calendar.

Several inmates asked for pictures of Jesus or the sacred mosque at Mecca.

Some
requests asked for re-enactments of simple romantic scenes. One man wanted a picture of a woman fishing by a lake beside an empty chair
with beer bottles on it (and a Harley Davidson in the forefront).

In another dream-like request, a
prisoner called Humberto asked for a black-and-white picture of a clown
holding an old-fashioned feathered pen and writing a letter.

Some took serious effort. A man called Willie asked for a photo of a vigil being held at Bald Knob Cross on a mountaintop in Illinois.

Ms
Reynolds said that to create the image for Willie, Tamms Year Ten
arranged a prayer vigil with the help of Darby Tillis, a man who
recently had been exonerated from death row in Illinois.

After a five-hour drive from Chicago to reach the
mountaintop, each person read a prayer. Willie said that he was 'praying
for deliverance from Tamms and for his parole'.

A year later he was transferred from the supermax prison and paroled after 38 years incarcerated.

Tamms Year Ten was established in
2008 on the 10th anniversary of the facility's opening in 1998.

Reynolds said that the photo
idea was initially born out of a campaign of letter writing by volunteers to each and
every man inside the facility.

A
photographer approached Ms Reynolds to ask if she could send pictures
to the men.

Reynolds explained that to receive a photograph, men are
usually required to give up one of a precious stash of around ten
photographs the prison allows.

They decided to ask the inmates what they would like a picture of - and the project was born.

The
project traveled by word-of-mouth and around 300 pictures ended up being sent from all over the world to the facility.

Ms Reynolds told MailOnline: 'We asked
photographer friends to become involved but the project spread and many
became inspired by what we were trying to do.

'We had a nun who took a bunch of
pictures for one man. He has since been transferred out of Tamms
but she still writes to him.'

A solitary mind: There were requests for imaginary scenes from Tamms. Prisoner Humberto, who was kept in isolation, requested this detailed black-and-white tableau of a lovesick clown holding an old-fashioned feathered pen, writing a letter

She continued: 'Several Army veterans
contacted us and said that they lived in the countryside and would some men like them to take pictures.

'The mothers of the prisoners often took pictures for other men.'

Despite
the humane and touching nature of the project, the fact remains that
the vast majority of prisoners in Tamms are guilty of often violent and deadly
acts.

Ms Reynolds said that some photographers wanted to know about the men's crimes, others didn't.

Healing wounds: A mentally ill man Robert asked for a picture of his mother who had died the year before, leaving him with no family and no one to visit. He wanted her picture in front of a picture of a castle or mansion, with a pile of money and a black Hummer. He signed off his request: 'I truly appreciate this a lot... Now I know somebody out there in the world cares about us in here'

Misty memories: Several of the Illinois inmates asked for pictures of Chicago. A man called Richard requested the fog rolling across downtown from Lake Michigan

One
female photographer, whose father is a retired police officer, was
faced with the difficult knowledge that the prisoner whose request she
had once threatened an officer.

Ms
Reynolds said the woman asked about the man's background - a tragic
story which was marked by schizophrenia
from a young age.

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The photographer decided that no matter what he did, it didn't take away from him being a
person and he was worth making a kind gesture towards.

The Photo Requests From Solitary
project, also featured here, is now working with inmates held in solitary confinement in the
New York and California prison systems.

Divine calling: Terrell requested pictures of the streets where a Chicago public housing project had once stood, called the Robert Taylor Homes. The photographer captured empty lots, the foundations of razed homes and this stained-glass window of a church behind a screen

Looking into the past: The photographer who fulfilled one inmate's request to have pictures of the Robert Taylor housing project also took this bucolic scene of allotments

Love don't cost a thing: Johnny asked for a photo of a very specific Jennifer Lopez music video with ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck rubbing her butt on a boat. The photographers knew exactly which scene he meant and took a picture of the screen

Several photo requests have come from hunger strikers in California, some who have been held in the 'shoe' - or the Secured Housing Unit (SHU).

The solitary confinement cell is known for its brutality and extreme sensory deprivation.

One
man, who defines himself as a political prisoner, asked for a picture
'liberation' - an image of himself leaving prison after 20 years and
'being able to hold another person'.

The New York photographic exhibition
opens this evening. Survivors of solitary
confinement in New York prisons will be at the even to share their experiences.

Pride: Prisoner Adolfo asked for a picture of the Puerto Rican flag. Artist Beatriz Santiago Muñoz helped fulfill the request with a photo of the burial of Filiberto Ojeda, whom she calls 'a nationalist hero to some, anti-hero to others'

A memory of things past: Charles, a prisoner for two decades, asked for pictures of four Chicago intersections, writing: 'I feel forgotten, cast away, but God uses this time to show how he never forgets about us no matter what, and I will like to thank you all for everything you do and everyone at Tamms Year Ten. I do feel bless having you all in my life

The project initially existed due to the work of volunteers and donations before receiving an Open Society Foundations Documentary Photography Engagement Grant.

Sullivan Galleries and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago also supported the project.

The exhibition wished to thank project partners: Tamms Year Ten;Solitary Watch;National Religious Campaign Against Torture Parsons; The New School New York
Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement; Open Society Foundations
Documentary Photography Project Sullivan Galleries and School of the Art Institute
of Chicago.

Tamms Supermax Prison closed on January 4, 2013.

Lockdown: Tamms inmate Joseph Dole, pictured in 2009, in solitary confinement in Tamms Correctional Facility, Illinois. Prisoners were kept for 23 hours a day in a 7x12ft concrete cell

World's apart: Tamms 'supermax' prison opened in 1998 was closed on January 4 this year due to budget cuts. Many in the area felt betrayed at the huge prison facility had brought many jobs

Protecting human rights: Mothers of men in isolation at Tamms protest outside the Illinois facility condemned by human rights watchers. Many of them provided photographs for inmates